India (South) 10

Thekkady and Alleppey

Our journey continued southwards from Munnar to Thekkady, and then westwards to Alleppey (Allappuzha).

As usual, although the places are not really far from each other, travelling time could be long due to the condition of the road, at times hilly and narrow, and also because of the frequent stops. Tea plantations dominate the landscape of many parts of the journey. The weather could also be scorching and stifling especially in a packed bus. But I was not complaining, instead I was enjoying myself of the new experience.

By the time we reached Thekkady, it was in late afternoon and after checking in to the hotel and having refreshed ourselves, we visited the Tribal Village a few kilometres away, where there are still many of the tribal people living within. The evening was followed by a stroll around the town. Almost every stall and every alternate shop is selling crispy fried banana slices.

The journey from Thekkady to Alleppey was a long and tedious one. We first travelled by bus to Kottayam, and then changed bus to Kumarakom. From here, we walked to a ferry terminal to catch a ferry (across Vembanad Lake) to a small town, the name of which I did not quite register. After which, we took another bus to Alleppey, about 14km away.

Although we left the hotel in Thekkady at 9:00am, by the time we reached Alleppey and having looked around for accommodation, we were just in time to get to the beach to watch the spectacular sunset.

Scenery along the way from Munnar
to Thekkady (above and below few)

At the Tribal Village

Home of the villagers (above and below 2)

Thekkady town (above and below 2)

From Thekkady to Kottayam

Kumarakom Jetty (above and below)

The ferry

Alleppey town (above and below)

Backwaters of Alleppey

Alleppey is a gateway to the famous backwaters of Kerala and it is described as ‘almost Venice-like’. We took a 2-hr boat cruise, weaving through the canals and the ‘water-highway’. Palm trees line many of the canal / river banks, and beyond, are the many rice fields. As we sat around enjoying and absorbing in the serene and beautiful surrounding, we saw many of the locals busily washing their clothes, brushing teeth; some were seen fishing while others were happily going about their other daily chores.

Alleppey is also famous for its houseboats. While on the cruise, we saw many of these houseboats passing by, and we could see that the tourists were enjoying themselves over a cuppa on the ‘patio’. We could only look at them with ‘envy’. Much as we would like to stay on one for a night, unfortunately the ‘high price’ put us away. It cost about Rs 8,500 to 9,000 (RM 650.00 to 700.00) a night for four pax (inclusive of food).

The Nehru Trophy Snake Boat Race, which is held on second Saturday of August each year, is also held in Alleppey. The boat is 30m long and is crewed by 100 rowers singing in unison. Being there in January, needless to say, we did not get to witness it.

Houseboat

The two concrete blocks behind look
out of place and spoil the skyline.

More houseboats

Air Asia advertisement – good one!

Water-highway

Fishing

Alleppey’s super water-highway

Duck, duck everywhere

Rice field

Washing cooking utensils and clothes is a common sight

Fishing with bow and arrow

Varkala

After the enjoyable boat ride, it was time to be on the bus again. This time, we were heading for Varkala, a very touristy beach resort south of Alleppey.

We needed to take 2 buses, first to a town called Kallambalam, get down from the bus, walked for some distance away to catch another one to Varkala Beach. The first part of the journey was really hot. Fortunately, it was much better during the second half of the journey.

By the time we arrived in Varkala, it was well past five in the evening, and being a popular destination, most of the hotels / guesthouses were already taken up, especially the budget ones. It took us a long time before we could find a suitable one which met our budget. A tiring day indeed.

The beach front is lined with rows and rows of hotels, restaurants and shops selling souvenirs, clothes, curios and many other stuff.

Varkala beach is indeed very different from what I had seen since I arrived in Kerala. It hardly tells that ‘I am in India’, both in terms of the people and the architecture. Caucasians and other foreign tourists out numbered the locals! In fact, a friend commented that the place reminded him ‘of some beach resorts in Thailand’!